Get the latest campus Department of Literacy, Early, Bilingual, & Special Education
The department offers programs which are innovative, NCATE accredited and promote excellence in the special education field.
Our teaching credential programs include a Preliminary Multiple Subject Credential, an Education Specialist Credential and a Bilingual Spanish or Hmong Authorization.
At the graduate level, the department offers Master of Art programs in Education with options in Early Childhood Education, Reading/Language Arts, and Multilingual Multicultural Education. We also offer a Master of Arts in Special Education.
Department Chair and Staff
Imelda Basurto
Chair, Department of Literacy, Early, Bilingual and Special Education
Office: Education Building, ED 250
Phone: 559.278.0250
Email: ibasurto@csufresno.edu
Carmen Chapman
Administrative Support Coordinator II
Office: Education Building, ED 250
Phone: 559.278.0250
Email: cchapman@mail.fresnostate.edu
Statement of Vision, Mission, and Beliefs
Vision
To empower education professionals, schools, and communities.
Mission
The mission of the Department of Literacy, Early, Bilingual, and Special Education is to engage and holistically support our teacher candidates and graduate students in developing competencies, knowledge, and resources to equitably serve our broader communities.
Beliefs
- We believe in inclusive education and that all means all students.
- We believe our diverse abilities, backgrounds, cultures, languages, and literacies are assets.
- We believe in creating developmentally appropriate educational experiences that encourage development of the whole person through deep questioning, research, and reflection.
- We believe in the discovery and advancement of new knowledge through collaborative inquiry, innovation, and research.
- We believe in engaging our broader communities as partners to maintain open communication, build trust, and foster relationships with students, educators, and families.
Department Faculty
Basurto, Imelda: Chair, LEBSE Department and Coordinator, Single Subject Credential Program
Office: Education Building, Rm263
Phone: 559.278.0285
E-mail: ibasurto@csufresno.edu
Bennett, Lisa
Office: Education Building, Rm 265
Phone: 559.278.0243
Email: lbennett@csufresno.edu
Ph.D. Education
M.A. Education
Multiple Subject Credential
B.A. Humanities
Areas of Expertise:
Literacy, Inquiry/Action Research, Reflective Practice, Qualitative Research Methods
Billen, Monica
Office: Education Building, Rm 259
Phone: 559.278.0267
E-mail: mbillen@csufresno.edu
Ph.D. in Education, emphasis in Literacy Studies
M.A. in Teacher Education
B.S. in Elementary Education
Areas of Expertise:
Early literacy, literacy teaching, reading and writing instruction, teacher preparation, pre-service teacher development, teacher reflection, technology and social media in teacher preparation, photographic reflections, qualitative research methodologies, photo analysis
Chen, Feiyan
Office: Education Building, Rm 267
Phone: 559.278.0222
E-mail: fchen@csufresno.edu
Doctor of Philosophy (Early Childhood Education)
Master of Education (Early Childhood)
Bachelor of Arts
Graduate Diploma of Education (Early Childhood)
Areas of Expertise:
Early childhood education and development
Social-emotional development
Cultural-historical theory
Visual methodology
Coy, Kimberly: Coordinator, Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership
Office: Education Building, Rm 357
Phone: 559.278.0724
E-mail: kcoy@csufresno.edu
B.A. University of Washington
M.A.T. Goucher College
Ph. D. Washington State University
Areas of Expertise:
Special Education, Mild to Moderate Disabilities, Universal Design for Learning, Research into Online or Digital Learning
Garnett, William : Coordinator, Special Education Graduate Program
Goff, Maria Hernandez: Coordinator, Reading/Language Arts Graduate Program
Hart, Steve
Office: Education Building, Rm247
Phone: 559.278.0319
E-mail: smhart@csufresno.edu
BS Elementary Education, Kutztown University, Pennsylvania
MA Reading, Language & Literacy Development, College of William & Mary, Virginia
PhD Reading Education, University of South Florida
Areas of Expertise:
Adolescent Literacy
Critical Literacy
Service-Learning Pedagogy
Herrera, Luz
Horsley, Heather: Coordinator, Multiple Subject Credential Program
Huerta, Teresa: Coordinator, Multilingual Multicultural Education Graduate Program
Office: Education Building, Rm253
Phone: 559.278.0364
E-mail: thuerta@csufresno.edu
Curriculum Vita
Lopez, Ana Soltero: Coordinator, Bilingual Authorization Program (BAP)
Low, David
Office: Education Building, Rm 269
Phone: 559.278.0208
E-mail: dlow@csufresno.edu
PhD, University of Pennsylvania
MA, New York University
BA, University of Arizona
Areas of Expertise:
Literacy, Secondary English Language Arts, Practitioner Research, Critical Literacy, Multimodality and Visual Literacy, Critical Multicultural Analysis of Children's and YA Literature, Comics/Sequential Art/Graphic Novels in Education
Link to Dr. Low's Faculty Page
Mathis, Catherine
Office: Education Building, Rm 242
Phone: 559.278.0228
E-mail: cmathis@csufresno.edu
McDonald, Cheryl: Coordinator, Education Specialist Credential Program
Office: Education Building, Rm 359
Phone: 559.278.0412
E-mail: cmcdonald@csufresno.edu
B.A. Early Childhood, California State University, Fresno
M.A. Special Education [with distinction], California State University, Fresno
Areas of Expertise:
Mild-moderate disabilities; co-teaching; inclusion
Powell, Dana
Office: Education Building, Rm343
Phone: 559.278.0288
Email: danac@csufresno.edu
Ph.D Special Education
Areas of Expertise:
Classroom Management
Emotional and Behavioral Disorders
Vang, Tony
Office: Education Building, Rm273
Phone: 559.278.0284
E-mail: tvang@csufresno.edu
Doctor of Education
1990 -University of San Francisco
Areas of Expertise:
International Multicultural Education and Second Language Acquisition
Wahleithner, Juliet
Office: Education Building, Rm 271
Phone: 559.278.0219
E-mail: jwahleithner@csufresno.edu
Link to Dr. Wahleithner's Faculty Page
Ph.D., Education, September 2013
University of California, Davis
Area: Language, Literacy, & Culture
Designated Emphasis: Writing, Rhetoric, & Composition Studies
M.A., Education, January 2010
University of California, Davis
Area: Language & Literacy
California Single Subject Teaching Credential, English, May 2002
Subject: English
Project Impact, San Joaquin County Office of Education
B.A., English, History Minor, March 1999
University of California, Davis
Areas of Expertise:
Literacy development at the secondary level
Teaching of writing
Teacher development
Teacher inquiry
Education evaluation
